entertainment復(fù)習(xí)范圍363-368美國篇

1、t1 op15arge-scale industnalization has revolutionized leisure in theUnited States. For the first time in history, free time is available to almost everyone. With automation and more eflicient producti

2、on methods, the work week has dropped from 60 hours to 40 or less,IipsI 4 leaving people with plenty of leisure time at their disposal. Equallyimportant, not only do more people have more hours

3、away from the job, but they have more money to spend during those hours. Besides, the goods and services that can be purchased have also increased significantly.iinbj iInr These developments

4、have been accompanied by ambivalentattitudes toward the place and use of leisure in people’s lives. ciiseti’.on L Dissension has occurred between emerging leisure norms and more firmly

5、 entrenched ones. Since the United States is work-oriented,leisure is seen in contrast to work, and viewed not only as free time butalso time that has been earned and paid for. For this reason, what ad

6、 how to do with mass leisure time has often assumed social and culturalsignificance in the United States.Hew Should Leisure lie Used in au IndustrialSn ely?To this seemingly simple question, Americans hav

7、e provided different answers. The historical conception challenged any nonwork activity and said, in fact, that leisure was wasteful, if not sinful, and should be minimized or avoided. As th

8、is historical prescription has provided a basis for analyzing present-day conflicting views on leisure in the United States, it is advisable to start discussing the problem of leisure by, first of all

9、, considering the historical roots of it.Leisure was viewed with suspicion in early America. It wassomething that should be generally avoided, because work-free hours yielded few, if any, ben

10、efits. To understand why this norm became so firmly entrenched in American value system, it is necessary to understand the period in which this idea flourished. As said before, early Am

11、erica saw little value in leisure, and this attitude was consistent with the task they faced. In the pioneer era, the dominant emphasis was upon work, self-sacrifice, and thrift, not on fun, relaxa

12、tion, oreven contemplation. It had to be so if the early colonies were to363365satisfactions became more closely centered in thejob. From this perspective, it was natural todefine leisure a

13、s desirable if it was used as arestorativeêrestorative for more and better work. Thus, while leisure was largely viewed negatively, it was?nevertheless regarded as a release from duties or

14、obligations. In other words, leisure was viewed asa means to other goals.With increased productivity industrializationwas still regarded as honorable, and other activitIes were evaluated inrelation to work

15、. After an industnal society had been built bywork. The idea that less eflhrt was now needed for greater productivity was difficult to comprehend, and not widely accepted. To be sure, machine

16、 production methods shortened working hours, but to some people, these innovations clashed with earlier work norms. For example, when Henry Ford adopted the five-day week in 1926, it met wi

17、th considerable resistance from opponents of shorter hours, who claimed that more work and better work were a more inspiring andmotto worthier motto than less work and more pay. Indeed, in the

18、 minds of many people, hours away from the job, especially for “common people,” was still viewed with distrust.Strong as the resistance was, the trend seemed to be well set for more leisure tim

19、e for American people as a whole. Along with the new products and conveniences produced by advanced technology, an important change in the motivation for work occurred. This, in turn,normative

20、I1*-ê brought about a change in the normative view of leisure. The pre_ industrial emphasis on work as necessary for survival was replaced by a post-industrial emphasis upon vocational success and t

21、he acquisition of money and possessions. Obviously, the pioneer, as well as theurbanite*lrA. urbanite, was preoccupied with “making aliving” and “getting ahead,” but in the urbanite’s world

22、, emotional and psychological needs became increasingly tied to the world of work. In the work-centered society, it was not surprising thatone’s conception of himself and his life.also

23、encouraged a secular view of life, resulting ingreater demands for material possessions. Consequently, earlier admonition moralistic admonitions about the inappropriateness of free time failed to make an impress